BEIQ Bei Technologies (MM)

BEI Technologies, Inc. Announces Systron Donner Inertial Division C-MIGITS III Selected for NovaSol ARCHER Imaging System SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BEI Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:BEIQ), an established manufacturer of electronic sensors and motion control products is pleased to is pleased to announce that BEI's Systron Donner Inertial Division (SDID) in Concord, California has been awarded a $400k contract to supply its C-MIGITS III INS/GPS for NovaSol, Inc.'s ARCHER airborne hyperspectral imaging system. NovaSol is contracted to deliver 17 systems to the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) who will use the system in Search and Rescue (SAR) and disaster management missions. ARCHER is the first broad application of high-tech airborne imaging systems in civilian aircraft to enhance the CAP's mission capabilities. NovaSol is providing airborne and ground station components to be used on CAP aircraft. The systems will collect hyperspectral and high resolution panchromatic data for real-time and post-flight processing and analysis. Archer will be deployed at all wings of the CAP across the nation. SDID's C-MIGITS III provides GPS corrected inertial data that is used to geo-rectify the real-time hyperspectral image. The ARCHER system uses the C-MIGITS III navigation outputs to pinpoint the location of objects such as persons in need of assistance, fire hotspots or oil spills on lakes and rivers. The C-MIGITS III features an inertial navigation system (INS) with three of SDID's patented quartz rate sensors and three vibrating quartz accelerometers tightly coupled with a 12 channel Jupiter C/A code GPS receiver. "NovaSol chose the C-MIGITS III INS because it produces attitude and location measurements at the required rates and accuracies for precision geo-registration of airborne HSI data," said Detlev Even, NovaSol's ARCHER program manager and director of ISR sensors. "We like the C-MIGITS' compactness, reliability, and well documented data interface. Integrating C-MIGITS with the ARCHER system proved to be straightforward, and enabled NovaSol to adhere to an aggressive development schedule." "We are pleased to receive this important order from NovaSol," commented Brad Smith, Vice President & General Manager of BEI Systron Donner Inertial Division. "This award aligns with our strategy for growth through the supply of GPS/INS systems for emerging markets such as airborne imaging and unmanned vehicles." BEI Technologies, Inc. (the "Company" or "Technologies") is an established manufacturer of electronic sensors, motors, actuators, rotary optical encoders, linear encoders with associated digital readouts (DROs), and motion control products used for factory and office automation, medical equipment, military, aviation and space systems. In addition, sales to manufacturers of transportation equipment, including automobiles, trucks and off-road equipment, have become a significant addition to the Company's business in recent years. The Company's micromachined quartz rate sensors are being used in advanced vehicle stability control systems and a significant increase in the production of those sensors had been in progress from the middle of 1998 to FY 2004 except for a decrease in production in fiscal 2002 due to increased competition. The Company is currently transitioning to its next generation of automotive inertial quartz based sensor products, remotely mounted multi- sensor clusters with CAN Bus and a multi rate sensor package suitable for incorporation into electronic systems modules. The Company also manufactures electronic steering wheel position sensors, seat-memory modules, throttle position sensors, inertial navigation systems, and other devices used in transportation systems. NovaSol, a six-year-old firm headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, provides turnkey imaging and navigation solutions to government and industry. NovaSol specializes in the development and fabrication of visible and near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (HSI) systems. Applications for these systems range from surveillance, tracking, agriculture, homeland defense, and environmental monitoring to search and rescue, military reconnaissance, and urban planning. NovaSol was recently named to the 2004 Inc.500 list, based on average annual sales growth. The company, which has more than 80 employees and, in 2003, $11.8 million in revenue, was cited for its 94 percent annual growth and 376 percent total growth. NovaSol is the first company to make this list in Hawaii in 15 years. Except for historical information, this news release may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements with respect to future timely development, acceptance and pricing of new products; potential impact of competitive products and their price; the ability to manufacture products in sufficient volume on an efficient and timely basis; general economic conditions as they affect the Company's customers and strategic partners, as well as other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Form 10-K for fiscal 2004. DATASOURCE: BEI Technologies, Inc. CONTACT: John LaBoskey, Senior Vice President/CFO, of BEI Technologies, Inc., 415-956-4477 Web site: http://www.bei-tech.com/

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